Theodicy

... because you've read it before. Or some cognate of it. Many times. Dozens of times. It may be hundreds of times. By many writers. Over the years. Why? Because it's about "The Problem of Evil". And after maybe 4,000 years worth of attempts, perhaps beginning with the book of Job -- certainly no later than that -- there is literally nothing to say that hasn't already been said. Many times. But, in light of recent events, I'll have another go at it.
Since this is too important an issue to be dealt with in terms of bloodless abstractions, let's take a concrete, particular, discrete example: imagine a commercial airliner flying over an active war zone. A commander on the ground launches, or orders the launch of, a surface-to-air missile, which hits the plane and destroys it, precipitating ...